GEORGE TOWN – Employers have been urged to play a firmer role in convincing workers to register for Covid-19 vaccination to help the country reach herd immunity to contain the pandemic.
K. Veeriah, secretary of Malayan Trades Union Congress’ (MTUC) Penang branch, has taken the Human Resources Ministry to task for being lenient on employers in the country’s Covid-19 vaccination drive.
He said the ministry should be compelling them to cooperate fully to ensure workers get inoculated – unless there are valid reasons for some to reject the process – and that they are granted unrecorded leave to do so.
The MTUC representative said the leniency is regretful, especially as there are constant reports of clusters emerging from workplaces.
“By saying that employers cannot be compelled to grant paid leave for workers to take the Covid-19 vaccination, the government is – in our view – akin to missing the forest for the trees,” Veeriah said in a statement.
In the first instance, the need to create herd immunity among the people means that employers should be compelled to extend their cooperation in ensuring that workers are vaccinated, he said.
Secondly, the fact that there is a constant reporting of workplace-related Covid-19 clusters ought to have justified the need for employers to ensure that their employees are vaccinated.
Thirdly, it would be in the interest of the employers to have their workers vaccinated. It would serve the purpose of creating the herd immunity among the population and – by extension – instil a sense of confidence amongst the workers, said Veeriah.
Given the said consideration, what needs to be addressed is this: are employers prepared to forgo their moral and civic corporate responsibilities to ensure that their workers are vaccinated?
“If the response is in the affirmative, then the government should be left with no other alternative but to enforce, through a decree, that employers grant a paid leave of absence to workers who take the vaccine.”
On this score, it is MTUC’s view that employers have an option: that is, to grant unrecorded paid leave to employees who undergo the Covid-19 vaccination, he added.
“Therefore, in the greater national interest, we urge employers to grant unrecorded paid leave to employees who take the Covid-19 vaccination,” Veeriah said. – The Vibes, April 11, 2021
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